The Sentence Structure Bike

Here are three sentences:

He smiles.

Autumn leaves twirled gently to the ground.

The park district will open an outdoor ice skating rink in November.

How long is a sentence?

Length does not determine what is and is not a sentence. Regardless of how long or short a group of words is, it needs two parts to be a sentence: a subject and a predicate.

• The subject tells us who or what.

• The predicate tells us what about it.

These two parts connect to form a basic sentence, also known as an independent clause.

Who or what? What about it?

He smiles.

Autumn leaves twirl gently to the ground.

The park district will open an outdoor ice skating rink in

November

Another way to describe a sentence is to compare it to a bike…

The subject is one wheel; the predicate is the other wheel.

These two parts connect to form a stable structure.

We can have just one word in each wheel…

Children Played

Students Studied Birds Chirped

But most of the time our ideas include more details, so we add extra words to the wheels.

The neighborhood play basketball children at the community center.

Regardless of how much detail we add, the wheels give the same kind of information. The subject tells us who or what. The predicate tells us what about it.

Simple Sentences

One pair of subject and predicate (and any details that go along with them) that can stand alone as a complete thought make up a simple sentence.

What if we accessorize our bike?

Dependent clauses cannot stand alone. They are like baskets that need to be attached to a basic sentence.

One kind of dependent clause begins with a subordinating conjunction.

When the music started

Everyone started to dance

We can place these baskets on the front of a bike to make Complex Sentences.

When the music started, everyone started to dance.

Because I registered early,I got into the camp I wanted.

NOTICE that the two clauses are separated by a comma because the subordinate clause comes first.

comma

comma

We can also place them on the back of a bike to make complex sentences.

Everyone started to dance when the music started.

I got into the camp I wanted because I registered early.

NO comma

NO comma

NOTICE that a comma is not needed when the subordinate clause is after the independent clause.

More Complex SentencesAnother kind of dependent clause begins with the relative pronouns who, which, and that.

whoever works part-time

which includes a swimming pool

that is parked in my driveway

These clauses are not sentences. They are like baskets that need to be attached to a bike. You may add them to the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence.

What does that look like?

Whoever works part-time, will be our guide.

The new fitness center, which includes a swimming pool, will open in February.

Henry’s car is the one that is parked in my driveway.

Compound Sentences